Snickers Day
by Emily Elizabeth
Summary: Halloween at the Stokes household. Nick and Sara, along with the rest of the gang, take their daughter trick-or-treating. Sequel to 'Secrets', but this story stands alone. NS, WOC, GrOC


Title: Snickers Day  
  
Disclaimer: CSI and its characters do not belong to me, although I do own Maddison, Joshua, and any other characters you don't recognize.  
  
Author's Note: This is a sequel to 'Secrets', although you don't have to read that one to understand this one. This one pretty much stands on its own. Actually, originally it was a stand-alone story, but halfway through I decided to make it a sequel. So even if you haven't read 'Secrets', you can enjoy this one and not be completely confused.  
  
Dedication: This story is dedicated to all the Snickers, especially my 'Golden Girls'. You know who you are. c",)  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Five-year-old Maddison Stokes stood impatiently at the foot of the stairs, one hand placed pointedly on her hip and the other resting on top of the bull-nose banister. "Mommy!" she called with an air of irritation. "Daddy! We're going to be late!" Her shoulder-length brown hair was braided into two pleats, and she wore a blue and white checked dress with sparkly red sneakers. Around her neck was the necklace that she never took off, the gold pendant that had been her grandmother's  
  
"We're coming, we're coming," Sara said as she started down the stairs, one hand holding up the skirt of her long, black dress while the other held a squirming baby in a pumpkin suit to her chest. "And stop yelling."  
  
"Where's Daddy?" Maddison asked as her mother adjusted the pointed hat on her head in the hall mirror and carefully strapped the baby into his car seat.  
  
"Right here," Nick answered, and Maddison shrieked when he grabbed her from behind and held her upside down over his shoulder.  
  
"Daddy! Let me go!" she cried between giggles as Nick dangled her in the air.  
  
"I don't know, what do you think Mommy?" Nick asked as Maddison pounded on his back, sending bits of straw from his scarecrow costume flying.  
  
Sara smiled and put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Hmm, I don't know. It wouldn't be very fitting for the wicked witch to let little Dorothy go, would it?"  
  
"Mommy!" Maddison squealed. "You can't do that! Besides, you're not the wicked witch of the west without your broom, anyway."  
  
"You'd better let her down," Sara conceded with an exaggerated sigh, and Nick flipped the giggling girl over before setting her on the ground.  
  
"You're lucky I don't have a brain," Nick said as he brushed off his legs. "Any guy with half a brain would be crazy to let a pretty little girl like you go just like that. He'd ask for a kiss first."  
  
Maddison took a step towards her father and indicated with her finger for him to bend down. He stooped over and the little girl planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "Happy now?"  
  
"Ecstatic," Nick replied, kissing her forehead and making the girl giggle even more.  
  
"What about me?" Sara asked, feigning shocked disappointment.  
  
"Sorry, Mommy," Maddison replied, "Witches don't get kisses. Only scarecrows." At Sara's hurt look, Maddison pursed her lips contemplatively. "Well, I guess I could make an exception."  
  
Sara smiled as her daughter wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek. "Ready to go?" Sara asked as she stood up.  
  
"Uh-huh," Maddison confirmed with a nod, rushing towards the door. "Wait!" she called, running back to the hallway, where a large bowl of candy corn was sitting on a table. Grabbing a handful and shoving it into her mouth, she headed back towards her parents, grinning and revealing the chewed pieces of candy in her mouth.  
  
"Maddison, that's disgusting," Sara chided as the little girl giggled. "I don't think the real Dorothy was that rude."  
  
Maddison put her hands on her hips and squinted her eyes challengingly at her mother. "Do you KNOW the real Dorothy?"  
  
"No I don't, but I do know that THIS Dorothy won't be trick-or-treating if she keeps it up," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and giving Maddison the characteristic 'Sara' look that her daughter had just moments before shown her.  
  
"Sorry," Maddison mumbled.  
  
"That's better," Sara said, glad that the exchange hadn't turned into anything more. "You ready to go trick-or-treating?"  
  
"Yeah!" she yelled. "But can I bring Snickers?"  
  
Nick shook his head. "Sorry, Missy, but the cat's staying here."  
  
"Please?" she begged, her bottom lip protruding in a pout and her large brown eyes drooping sadly at him. "Pretty please with sugar on top?"  
  
"Maddie, Snickers can't come trick-or-treating," Nick repeated.  
  
"But what if we just leave him at Aunt Catherine's?" she begged. "We don't have to bring him to the houses with us."  
  
"Fine," Nick said with a sigh of resignation. "Go get him."  
  
Maddison ran off happily in search of the black cat while Sara grabbed the witch's broom that completed her ensemble. Moments later the little girl returned, this time with the family cat in her arms.  
  
"Okay. Are we ready now?" Sara asked. "We're going to be late."  
  
"Me and Snickers are ready," Maddison replied.  
  
"I'm ready," Nick added, picking up the car seat. "And Joshua's ready."  
  
"Then let's go."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Trick or treat!"  
  
Lindsey smiled when she saw the family on the doorstep. "Hey guys! Come on in," she said as she held the door open and they walked into the spacious family room. "The costumes are awesome. Maddie, you make such a cute Dorothy! And those shoes are great."  
  
"Thanks," Maddison said with a smile. "Mommy made me wear them, but the real Dorothy had ruby slippers, not ruby sneakers."  
  
"The real Dorothy also wasn't a five year old girl who complains that her feet hurt unless she's in her favorite sneakers," Sara added.  
  
Maddison ignored her. "And I was gonna get a dog just like Toto, but Daddy said no, so I had to use Snickers instead," she continued, letting the squirming cat down on the ground. "At least he's the right color, even if he's a cat."  
  
Lindsey laughed and led them to the kitchen, where Catherine, Grissom, Warrick, Greg, and two other women were scattered. "Uncle Greg! Uncle Warrick!" Maddison shouted, throwing herself at the two men leaning against the counter.  
  
"Hey beautiful," Greg said, gaining a giggle from the little girl.  
  
"How ya doing, princess?" Warrick asked as he kissed her forehead.  
  
"Good," Maddison replied as Warrick scooped her into his arms. "Hey, Aunt Jackie," she called to the blonde woman seated at the table.  
  
"Hey, sweetie," Jacqueline replied with a smile. "I love your costume. I tried to get your Uncle Warrick to be the Tin Man, but he's a party pooper," she said with a wink, resting her hand on her swollen stomach.  
  
"I am not!" Warrick insisted. "It was just that stupid paint that I was allergic to."  
  
Jacqueline merely rolled her eyes.  
  
"Don't I get a hello?" Grissom asked, feigning hurt.  
  
"Grandpa!" she called excitedly, wriggling free of Warrick's arms and hopping onto Grissom's lap. "I didn't see you."  
  
"Happy Halloween," he said, kissing the top of her head and handing her a bag of candy.  
  
Sara smiled. Ever since Grissom revealed that he was he was her father six years ago, he took any opportunity to dote on Maddie, buying her gifts and candy and taking her out for ice cream and pizza. Although he also spoiled Joshua, he and Maddison shared a special bond that was unbreakable.  
  
"Thanks!" the little girl exclaimed, ripping into it and pulling out a Twizler. She peeled off the wrapper and looked curiously at the woman seated next to Jacqueline. "Who're you?" she asked as she bit into the candy, gaining a laugh from everyone and an admonishment from Sara.  
  
"I'm Brianna," she replied with a smile. "I'm your Uncle Greg's girlfriend."  
  
"Aha, so this is your flavor of the week, huh Greg?" Sara teased with a glint in her eye.  
  
"Uh-uh," he said, resting his arms on Brianna's shoulders. "Bri's a keeper."  
  
Brianna laughed. "Nice to know," she said, poking him in the ribs.  
  
"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot where she had poked him.  
  
Brianna laughed again and shrugged her shoulders. "Love tap, baby. Toughen up."  
  
The rest of the group exchanged knowing looks at the couple's flirting banter. They knew they'd be seeing a lot more of Brianna in the future.  
  
"Can we go trick-or-treating now?" Maddison asked impatiently.  
  
"Sure," Sara said, and everyone headed towards the door.  
  
"You sure you don't want to come?" Catherine asked Lindsey, who had decided to stay behind.  
  
"I'll be fine, Mom," Lindsey replied with a smile. "Brad's supposed to call later, so I want to be here."  
  
Catherine sighed. Her daughter's boyfriend had moved to California earlier that year, and she knew that Lindsey cherished their phone conversations almost as much as their sporadic visits.  
  
"Besides," Lindsey continued, "I promised Uncle Nick and Sara that I'd watch Joshua."  
  
"Okay," Catherine said, "We have our cell phones if anything happens."  
  
"Good-bye!" Lindsey called exasperatedly, pushing them out the door as she turned the baby in her arms. "See you in a few hours! Have fun! Get lots of candy!"  
  
"Don't be so sorry to see us go," Catherine said sarcastically as Lindsey gave one final frustrated wave and closed the door with a sigh of relief. She smiled as the phone rang.  
  
"Hey Brad," she greeted as she settled herself on the couch, the gurgling baby in her lap, not caring about what her mother's reaction would be when she received the phone bill.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Two hours later, the group trudged back into the house, Sara holding Maddison's trick-or-treat bag and Nick carrying Maddison.  
  
"Did you guys have fun?" Lindsey asked as she put the phone back in its cradle.  
  
"Yeah," Maddison replied tiredly as Nick set her on the floor. "Can I go through my candy now?"  
  
"Sure," Nick answered as he sat on the loveseat, Sara curling up next to him as their daughter dumped her candy bag on the carpet.  
  
Warrick sat down on the recliner, Jacqueline on his lap, and Greg and Brianna cuddled up together on one end of the couch while Catherine and Grissom occupied the other end.  
  
"Where's Josh?" Sara asked, peering around the room for her son.  
  
"Asleep in the other room" Lindsey answered with a smile. "He's only been out for about a half hour, so he should sleep through the night."  
  
Sara nodded and turned to watch her daughter examine her candy pile.  
  
"What did you get, sweetie?" Jacqueline asked as the little girl waded through her candy stash.  
  
"I got some M&M's, and some gross stuff with peanuts," she said, handing the bar to Jacqueline. "Here. You can share this with the baby."  
  
Jacqueline laughed as she took the candy bar. "Thanks. The baby and I appreciate it."  
  
"Do you know what you're going to name it?" Brianna asked.  
  
Warrick looked at his wife and smiled, and she nodded. "If it's a girl we'll name her Megan Catherine, and if it's a boy he'll be Zachary Ryan."  
  
"That's cute," Lindsey said, "I love the name Megan."  
  
"So what else did you get?" Greg asked Maddison, who was still sorting her candy.  
  
"Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, and ewww..Snickers bar. I hate Snickers."  
  
Catherine stared at Nick and Sara in shock. "She hates Snickers?" she asked incredulously. "Isn't that both your favorite?" Both Nick and Sara nodded. "And she's your kid?"  
  
"I know," Grissom said. "I couldn't believe it when she told me. I don't know how any grandchild of mine can hate Snickers."  
  
Nick laughed as Maddison handed him the bar. "Yeah, we go through this every year. She can't stand them," he said, tearing into the chocolate and giving half to his wife. "Hopefully Joshua'll like them. Otherwise I don't know what we'll do. More for us, I guess."  
  
Sara laughed as she held up her half of the candy. "Cheers, Nick," she said as they hit the two pieces together in a toast. "Happy Snickers Day."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
A/N~ Okay, Happy Halloween, guys! Hope you picked up on my "subliminal messages". (Note: If I could type one handed, one hand would be making air quotes while the other typed this pointless author's note.) Anyway, if you're reading this, obviously you're a Snicker, so that was for you! Please review!  
  
~Emily 


End file.
